A short trip to Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma Prefecture. Ousen Falls, located roughly 2-3km south-east from town. This one has to be one of the best views that Kusatsu has to offer within the town proximity, at least for a first-time visitor like myself.

A dead-end but sealed road travels south-east from Kusatsu town and terminates at a car park. I walked to the car park from the town centre, it’s not a huge distance. Then a 1km walking track takes over. The track descends gently at the start but the descent will turn steep in the second half as it winds its way down towards Ousen Falls. The walk takes a little care and effort but you will soon be rewarded with a fantastic view at the bottom.

Highly recommended if you can go up/down a steep walking track. Also of note is a sign standing at the start of the track warning against a bear encounter (!), advising walkers to make some noise (radio, bells, whistle, etc) while walking to scare away the bears. I tried to make some bodily noises along the way (whistling and humming but also a big breakfast a short time earlier helped me make some other kinds of unmentionable bodily noises too). No bear encounter was to be had – no complaints from me there! Seriously though - I didn’t have a bell or radio on me but was carrying a whistle and a stick (monopod) just in case.

This spot in the photo is where the walking track reaches the creek (Kosamegawa I believe) at the bottom. Ousen Falls can be seen a short distance away

The eight islands of Japan sprang into existence through Divine Intervention.The first two gods who came into existence were Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto, the Exalted Male and Exalted Female. It was their job to make the land for people to live on.They went to the bridge between heaven and earth and, using a jewel-encrusted halberd, Izanagi and Izanami churned up the sea into a frothy foam. As salty drips of water fell from the tip of the halberd the first island was formed. Its name was Onogoro.So far, so good. But when Izanagi and Izanami first met on their island, Izanami spoke to Isanagi without being spoken to first. Since she was the female, and this was improper, their first union created badly-formed offspring who were sent off into the sea in boats.The next time they met, Izanagi was sure to speak first, ensuring the proper rules were followed, and this time they produced eight children, which became the islands of Japan.I'm sure you did not fail to miss the significance of this myth for the establishment of Japanese formal society.At present, Japan is the financial capital of Asia. It has the second largest economy in the world and the largest metropolitan area (Tokyo.)Technically there are three thousand islands making up the Japanese archipelago. Izanagi and Izanami must have been busy little devils with their jewelled halberd...Japan's culture is highly technical and organized. Everything sparkles and swooshes on silent, miniaturized mechanisms.They're a world leader in robotics, and the Japanese have the longest life-expectancy on earth.Text by Steve Smith.

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